NHL making big changes for 2026-27 season

The NHL and the Players Association quietly agreed to a new deal during last year’s playoffs, easing concerns among those worried about a labor stoppage. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA Executive Director Marty Walsh have a good relationship, which helped move the deal along. The two sides even agreed to accelerate some of the changes and implement them starting in 2025-26. However, Pierre Lebrun reported on Wednesday that some schedule changes will begin in the 2026-27 NHL season.

“As reported before but now the NHL has started to put it together, the regular season will begin in late September for 2026-27 and Cup awarded mid June,” Lebrun posted on X. “Pre-season shortened and regular season extended to 84 games.”

It’s a long time coming for some NHL fans who have been unhappy with the length of the NHL seasons. While 84 games make the regular season longer, fewer preseason games make sense as those exhibition matchups turned into rosters full of minor leaguers. It’ll now be a much more truncated schedule that will get more NHL regulars in lineups.

The season ending earlier in June is also a welcome sight, as games nearly going into July took away some of the excitement of playoff hockey. Last year’s finals schedule stretched over almost three weeks, and watching hockey in the middle of summer doesn’t exactly feel right.

Bettman hasn’t always been a fan favorite, but some of the changes he is implementing will surely get him some positive publicity. The NHL announced changes to the league’s long-term injured reserve rules and the implementation of a playoff salary cap on Tuesday, which are a welcome addition for those who dislike cap circumvention. The league followed it up with the schedule changes on Wednesday.

While Bettman and the NHL still have a ways to go on their quest to put the NHL in a bigger spotlight, the new CBA appears to be a giant step in the right direction.